title: Adrenalectomy-induced granule cell death is predicated on the disappearance of glucocorticoid receptor immunoreactivity in the rat hippocampal granule cell layer.
abstract: In this study, we observed the changes of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-immunoreactivity (ir) and cell death in the rat hippocampal granule cell layer at various periods after adrenalectomy (ADX). Our results revealed that all of the rats shortly after ADX showed a rapid loss of GR-ir and subsequent appearance of degenerating cells in the granule cell layer. One month after ADX, however, about 80% of the rats displayed a restoration of GR-ir and the absence of degenerating cells in the granule cell layer, and this phenomenon was successively noted for 6 months. Hippocampal structural destruction 3 and 6 months after ADX was found in about 20% of the rats with loss of GR-ir in the granule cell layer; the ADX rats with even weak GR-ir in this area had a normal hippocampus. The treatment of rats with synthetic GR agonist, dexamethasone, immediately after ADX prevented the loss of GR-ir and significantly reduced the number of degenerating cells in the granule cell layer. Our results clarified that granule cell death after ADX was necessarily accompanied by the disappearance of GR-ir in the granule cell layer, suggesting that ADX-induced granule cell death is predicated on the loss of GR-ir and that the presence of GR-ir in this area may be important for granule cell survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan. hzu@basic.kpu-m.ac.jp
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yuri
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawata
mesh_terms: D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000906:Antibodies; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016622:Silver Staining
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000906:Antibodies; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D003907:Dexamethasone